Smoke one for Charley Reese
NickyK
Charley Reese is retiring. Below here is a copy of his last column.
Be sure to read the list of Taxes at the end. The article is
completely neutral, not anti-republican or democrat.
Charlie Reese has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly
who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for
the judgments made that impact each one of us every day.
555 PEOPLE --By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and
then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are
against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation
and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on
appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank
does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme
Court justices equates to 555 human beings out of the 300 million are
directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the
domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that
problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its
Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally
chartered, but PRIVATE, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound
reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce
a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking
thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in
cash.
The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what
the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to
determine how he votes.
Those 555 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that
what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con
regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive
amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a
Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating
deficits. . . The President can only propose a budget. He cannot
force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole
responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and
approving appropriations and taxes. House members, not the President,
can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they
can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot
replace 555 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of
incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic
problem that is not traceable directly to those 555 people. When you
fully grasp the plain truth that 555 people exercise the power of the
federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they
want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red ..
If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they
want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement
plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 555
people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs
they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can
reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and
from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con
you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like
"the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing
what they take an oath to do.
Those 555 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they
alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held
accountable by the people who are their bosses. . . Provided the
voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
What you do with this article now that you have read it, is up to you.
This might be funny if it weren't so true. Be sure to read all the
way to the end:
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he's fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
EVERY day!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
You won't be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers
Tax him some more
Tax him till
He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.
Put these words
Upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me
to my doom"
When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Schools Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? NOT ONE of these taxes existed 100 years
ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in
the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the %*#^ happened?
Can you spell 'politicians?'